Man accused of abuse free on bond

December 5, 2012

An Elkins man accused of injuring a two-month-old baby is free on bond following a hearing in Randolph County Magistrate Court Tuesday.

Magistrate Rob Elbon modified bond for Earl Casey Woods, 21, who is charged with child abuse causing injury, a felony, in the wake of an Oct. 3 domestic incident during which Woods allegedly broke two of the infant's ribs and caused additional bruising to the child's body.

Woods had been incarcerated in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond prior to Tuesday's hearing. On Tuesday, Elbon granted a motion filed by Woods' attorney, Dwight Hall, to modify Woods' bond from $25,000 cash-only to $75,000 cash, property or surety.

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Elbon informed Woods that as an additional condition of his bond, he is to have no contact with either of the two child victims involved in the case - a 2-year-old and the infant- unless Randolph County Circuit Court Judge Jaymie Godwin Wilfong modifies that condition and grants him permission.

Woods also waived his right to a preliminary hearing, meaning the case will automatically be bound over to Randolph County Circuit Court.

On Oct. 3, police were dispatched to the Aero Club Trailer Park on Country Club Road to respond to a domestic incident. When they arrived on scene, officers heard a baby screaming, and a neighbor told them it sounded like someone inside the residence was hitting the infant, according to the criminal complaint.

The baby was taken to Davis Memorial Hospital the same day, and the hospital subsequently made a referral to Child Protective Services after discovering that the infant had two broken ribs and bruising on his left rib area, back and left leg.

On Oct. 10, Woods provided law enforcement with a written statement in which he admitted that during an Oct. 3 argument with his girlfriend he had "picked up the (2-month-old) child a little too hard," the complaint states.